Season Finale

SO, tonite marked the official season finale of The Wire. Now, I realize that most of America saw it last Tuesday on HBO on Demand, but I waited for it, wanted to space it out, see whether the characters would follow the paths I wanted for them. See, this season was different for me for one simple reason, they took it to the kids.

If you read last weeks post, then you already know, pretty much, what I am talking about. Normally I can watch all of these types of shows with a certain detachment, these are grown folks after all, they made the choice to sling, sell, feen, fill in the blank. Therefore, there is minimal sympathy for that junkie that cathes a beat down, the drug dealer that catches a case, the bad guy hero who finally faces karma. Now, don't get me wrong, when The Wire terminated Idris Elba, I almost had to put them in no man's land, meaning on the "will not watch anymore" list. Come on, you do not terminate Stringer Bell. Never. He is the one dealer that you can believe finally walks away from the game, breaks lose with millions earned and gets to live that glamorous life.


But it seems that is a route Hollywood just cannot allow. I have only seen it one time, in Sugar Hill, and even he wound up paralyzed from the neck down with both his Daddy and brother dead (I am speaking of Wesly Snipes).

But anyway, I digress. My point originally was that when The Wire took it down to the kids, portrayed how our men and women wind up locked into this drug game trap, street corner trap, without much choice and no other options, it makes the story much more endearing, understandable, heartbreaking.


Michael, for example. How can someone pass judgement on this boy? Is he wrong for having his brother's father murdered? Ok, the point blank answer is always, yes, murder is a sin. But what about the fact that the man had molested him, would certainly, eventually, molest his younger brother, and was making aggressive moves to take over the household funds. Calculate in his junkie mother, a dysfunctional school system, a completely incompetent Social Services system, and what choices seem reasonable to any 13 year old? So the deal with the devil had to be made. Truth be told, how many folks under the same circumstances would have chosen differently. But now he is the property of Marlo Stanfield- this 13 year old is a life long street soldier. How long before he is dead, shot, in jail? How long before his little brother, despite all his efforts, is also in the game. Its all cyclical, isn't it?

So, I hope that The Wire gets some awards and recognition for traveling very dense dark waters, navigating them cleanly, directly, giving the most real reflection of inner city chaos that I have every seen. But they won't. Simply put, the cast never gets any nods, neither does the crew, and i don't want to say its because of the huge African American cast but, if it quacks like a duck, then you got to call it a ....

One more thing. Despite my best efforts to remain oblivious to this weeks show before tonight, I happened to see that JD Williams character, Bodie, was going to meet his end tonite. Truth be told, I didn't want to believe it. Bodie reminded me so much of a guy I grew up with, had a crazy crush on and, well, you know...But, they did the deed, killing off one of the more prolific representers of the street in years. His death bothered me as much as Stringers, pissed me off actually, but this year I can't lie to myself....I'll still be tuning in next season, no matter what.